Robert Patrick Thought James Cameron Was Going to Fire Him off of ‘Terminator 2’
Actor Robert Patrick was cast in a life-changing role as the Terminator in James Cameron’s T2: Judgment Day. But Patrick couldn’t shake the feeling that his time on the film would be short-lived.
Robert Patrick thought he was going to be fired during his chaotic time in ‘Terminator 2’
Terminator 2 gave a significant boost to Patrick’s career. Before the time-traveling sci-fi feature, one of Patrick’s biggest roles was a small part in Die Hard 2. Given what a huge opportunity Terminator 2 was, he felt immediate pressure doing the sci-fi project.
Every time I got in there, stepped up and got on the mark, I had to make sure I knew how the T-1000 would react in all these situations: all the movements. It was like acting under a microscope. There were a lot of frustrating things: marks I had to hit. I had to keep my eyes here [points straight ahead],” Patrick said in a 2017 interview with Den of Geek.
One of his fondest memories was working alongside the franchise’s creator James Cameron. Similarly to what other actors have said, working with Cameron could be difficult, but it always paid off in the end.
“Jim is an intense man, who knows what he wants and he’s gonna get it from you. I wish every actor had the experience of working with a James Cameron, because I’ve never worked with anybody as exact and specific, and really understanding the vision he’s trying to pull off,” Patrick said.
The pressure was so overwhelming for the actor that at times Patrick thought for sure he’d be booted off the project. Even though there was little reason for him to have these thoughts.
“There was also a part of me that was worried I was gonna get fired! You know, I revealed that recently. That was something I didn’t really share with a lot of people, but I just thought, any day now, this is all gonna go away, and I’m gonna get fired. Why I had that feeling, I’ve no idea,” he said.
Robert Patrick was cast in ‘Terminator 2’ because he scared James Cameron
Patrick received his role as the T-1000 through traditional auditions. He learned about the opportunity to star in T2 through his agent.
“My agents told me that they were looking for someone who could create an intense presence. They’re not going to let me read the script,” Patrick remembered.
It helped that the Peacemaker star physically resembled who Cameron and others envisioned the T-1000 to be on the page.
“The cool things that I didn’t know about were that they were looking for someone that physically looked like me. They had previously cast Billy Idol. He got injured, and I had been described as a cross between David Bowie and James Dean. And that was a physical thing that Jim was looking for. It was really the way I looked that got their interest,” he said.
Beyond his looks, however, it was what Patrick brought to his audition that nabbed him the role. His performance brought a reaction out of Cameron that other actors didn’t.
“Jim, from what I understand, went ‘Wow.’ And I remember him saying: ‘You were the only one who gave me a little scare there,’” Patrick once told The Guardian.
Why Robert Patrick sometimes resented his ‘Terminator’ role
Patrick’s star-power seemingly grew overnight after being in Cameron’s Terminator films. The actor recalled being approached by fans out in the streets, which showed him just how popular his Terminator role was. Some would even ask Patrick to reenact his iconic run in T2, which he admitted would annoy him occasionally.
“I’ve done it to make people laugh. But I’ve resented the role to a certain degree sometimes. I’ve gotten pissed at people about it. If I felt as if they were mocking me I would get a little annoyed. But over the years, and the older I’ve get, the more I’ve loosened up. I’m able to take the piss out of myself,” he said.
